Improved apparatus for mashing, boiling, and fermenting grain



UNITED; STATES PATENT OEEICE.

E. E, PEENTiss AND it. AnoBEETsoN, or PHiLADELPHiA, PENNSYLVANIA.

`ltlPFiOVED lMPARATUS FOR MASHING, BOlLlNG, AND i'ERMENTlNG GRAIN.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 19', l5 I, dated Augustl, 1865.

Toy all whom 'it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ELiJAH FREEMAN PRENTIss,of the city of Philadelphiaand State of Pennsylvania, and ROBERT ADAM ROBERT- SON, -now of the sameplace, late of Liverpool,

England, have invented certain new and usetical section of a. part ofthe mashing appa-V ratus, showing the pipe for the influx of the wateraround about the pipe lthat brings the malt from the malt-lodge. Fig. 5is a plan of the boiling and cooling cistern. Fig. 6 is a. verticalsection of 'the vessel last mentioned.

Fig. 7 is a plan of the fermenting apparatus. l Fig. 8 is a front viewof tbe fermenting apparatus, showing a part of the regulating apparatus.Fig. 9 is a vertical section of the ferinenting apparatus, taken on theline a: y in Fig. 7. Fig.-l0 is a front view of the mashing, boiling,and cooling and fermenting apparatus in position. A

Our improvements may be best described 'under three heads, as follows:

'I. The improvements in the mashing apparates, which consist, first, ina device for mixing the malt with water outside of the mashtub; second,in the arrangement and combination of a supply and draw-oli pipe with adistributer, which acts also as a strainer placed ins-ide .this tub;third, in a revolving' sparger,

' Perforated as hereinafter described.

1I. The improvements iu .the boiling and cooling apparatus, which isconstructed, ar-

ranged, and operated as hereinafter described.4

III. The improvements in the fermentingtun, which consist, iirst, in a.new regulating apqparatus; second,'an improved iloat.

enable others skilled in the art to make and use our improvements, wewill proceed to describe their construction and mode of operatipici.

A,4 Figs. l and 2, is the mash-tub.

a, Figs. 2 and 4, is a pipe, perforated as shown, about six inches indiameter, connected with the mash-tub, and through which th`e` groundalt falls in a'stream from the maltlodge, the supply being regulated byan ordinary slide or damper. l

b is a east-ing surrounding the perforated partof the pipe a, as shown,having an inletpipe, b', communicating with a hot-water cisobjectot soconstructing the supply-pipe is to cause the water to pass through theperforations with an impetus. l

cis a mixer, which consists ot` two` series of l rods, the rods ineach'series being fastened at top and bottom to separate disks. rlhestem cof the mixer passes down through astuifing-box, c2, and isconnected with` gearing for p revolving the two series oi' rods, each,series in an' opposite direction.

d, Fig. 2, is a. pipe, about two inches in dian1 eter, to admit watertothe mash-tub, which communicates' with the distributer d', which isplaced under the false bottom d2.

d2, Figs. 2 and 3, is an adjustable pipe connected by a swivel-joint tothe supply-pipe d, toregulate the depth ot' water on the goods, andwhich by being turned down far `enough drains oft' allthe wort from theinaslitub.

e, Fig. 2, is the spargei, connected bya swiveljoint with the pipe e',by which pipe it is suspended, this pipe c( being made ot'. a convenientlength, and being connected with hotand cold water supply pipes. (Notrepresented.) Each arm of the sparger is perforated with holes, the armsof the sparger being divided into an equal number of spaces. In theiirst space are made three holes, inthe second live, y

in thethird seven, in the fourth nine, in the fifth eleven, and so on tothe ends of the arms.

The lirst hole in .the lirst space on each arm points directly down, andthe last hole at the end of each arm points a little above thequar- .terof the circle of thepipc. The line ot' holes from the rst to the last ineach arm forms a l taininga quantity of mercury, in which oatsaninverted cup, n3, which is connected by a spiral. The object ot' theconstruction ot' the holes in this manner is to secure the distributionot equal quantities of the water over equal spacesot' the goods. Thesectional area of all the holes is made less than that ot thesupplypipe, so that the. water can pass through thev holes with animpetus.

In Figs. 5 and 6, B is the boiling andcooling vessel. fisa pipe, aboutone foot in diameter, leading from the bottom of this vessel to thebottom ot' the column g, which is formed of an exterior side case,aboutten feet lon gand two feet in diameter inclosing a number of pipes,h, each about one inch in diameter. The pipes h are arranged inconcentric circles around the center pipe. The first circle has a radiusot" one andthree fourths inch and contains six pipes. The second circlehas a radius'of't'hree and one halt inches and contains twelve pipes.The third circle has a radius of tive and onefourth inches. and containseighteen pipes.'

.The fourth circle has a radius of seven inches and contains twenty-fourpipes. The fifth circle has a radius of eight and three-fourths inchesand contains thirty pipes. The sixth circle has a radius ot` ten andone-halt' inches and contains thirty-six pipes. The pipes hare fastenedat the top to a-pertorated plate and at the bottom to anothersimilarplate so as to be in communication with theboiler B and the ppef. i

,gz is a plate bolted to the bottom ot the column g,land is maderemovable, in order that the pipes fand 7L can be cleaned.

i is a tubular perforated chimney attached toa perforated false bottom,i', ot' a conical shape, having an edge of about threeinches in depth,which rests on the bottom ot the boiling-vessel B.

k and k', Fig. 6, are pipes, of about two inch es in diameter, for theinlet and outlet of steamV or water to the space surrounding the pipes hin column g. n

g', Figs. 6 and 10, isthe pipe to convey the wort to thefermenting-tuns,of which there may be any desired number. The cock s,Fig. 10,

, communicates with the fermenting-tun c, and lthe cock s commands theflow of wort tothe about two feet in diameter and t'wenty inches'high,inc1osing'a number of pipes, m, attached to a perforated plate atthe bottom and to another perforated plate at the top, inclosingalso anair-chamber, n, about eight inches in diameter. This air-chambernisconnected by a'pipe, n', Figs. 8 and 9, with the bottom of a cup,n2,xedto the outside of thev tun and conseries ot levers, as shown, with thecock n? in the supply-pipe a5. ne, Figs. 7, 8, and 9, is a pipe for theexit. of the water from the regulating apparatus.

O, Fig. 9, isa iioat made ot wood, dat on its upper surface, conical. onits under surt'acegrv about eight feet square and about ten inches inthickness at the edges, tapering onthe under surface frozn the sides toan aperture of about .sixteen inches diameter in the center, Where it isabout three-qnarters'ot an inch thick. This iloat being composed otseparate pieces of wood the pieces are securelyfastcned together landthe joints made tight by marine glue or other suitable means. In the'aperture of the Afloat there is fastened a lnetallic collar, p, aboutfourinches high. .There I is fitted into t-his collar another removablepipe -ot" the saine diameter, aboutxtwelve inches high, having anumbrella-like rim, q, fixed to its upper end. The ioat has fastenedaround its edges a wooden border, o", extending from the lower edge ot'the float about ten inches above the upper surta-ce of the oat, for thepurpose of collecting the barm until it is removed. f

'r is a pipe, about sixteen inches long and four inches in diameter,placed ush with theupper surface of the'ioat and extendingdown' into thewort, as shown.

The operation ot the several parts ot our im provements may he describedas follows, vizz, The ground.A malt entering the pipe'a falls down thesame until it meets thewater admit-' ted th'rough b and the perforationsin the pipe A ,and is thoroughly mixed bythe rotary mixer c. I-t thenfalls into the mash-tub A in a state of pulp. Tha-t process is continueduntil the malt `intended for that brew is used up. The goods remain inthe mash-tub until the brewer inds'his'solution perfected, and it'it beuecessary to perfectthe solution to add heat, hot 1 wateris admittedthrough the pipe d, through the distributer d', under the false bottomd3. Whe'n the vsolution is completed `the brewer lowers the swan-neck d2to the right pitch to get the goods of the proper dryness, the wortrunning into the vessel B. Then the wateris turned on the sparger e,which revolves and showers an equal quantity otwater over eachsuperiicialfoot of the goods. The brewer keeps theswairneck at thedesired pitch until he hasgot his length or quantity, deducting thequantity of w rt that is retained among the grains.

Then he shuts o" the water from the sparger and lowers the swan-neckgradually unt-il he gets it belowthe level of the mash-tub, when ,allthe wort will drain oft' into the boiling-ves'- sel B. Steam is thenadmitted through the pipe k, and fills all the space marked blue aboutthe pipes in the column g. This process continucs until the wort boils.Then (or before, if he prefer) the brewer puts the hops into theboiling-vessel-outside of' the perforated chim.

eey t. The wort boils and circulatesthrough the hops down the pipe f andup through the column g, as indicated by the arrows, and this boiling iscontinued as long as necessary. As soon as the wort has been boiledsuf'ciently the steam is eut ott' from the pipes la and'k and cold wateris admitted through k', it es.

eaping through k, the-currents of the water and the steam being inreverse directions. .l When the wort has been suticiently cooled it isal lowed to ow through thepipe g and the cocks into the bottom of thefermenting-tub c, where and between the pipe n and any waste receptacle,as shown 'in Fig. 8. When the oat is o lowered the umbrella-like pipeqis adjusted -to its place, and it is kept there until the barm beginsto'get heavy, when it is removed. Any

l wort which subsides from the lightbarrn lying onthe oat runs back intothe tub again through the pipe r, which extends below the surface of'the wort. When the fermentation in the tub has entirely finished, thebeer is racked off through the cocks s and s. may be mentionedkthat anynumber of fermentation-tuus may be employed, and that if more than oneisused, the cock sis placed in the pipe g", beyond the last oneof theseries ot'tuns.

Havingthusdescribedonrimprovenientsand bow we believe the same may bebest carried into practical effect, we wish it to be understood thatwe'do not confine ourselves to the precise details, relativeproportions, or dimensions hereinbefore described and set forth, as itwill be readily seen that the same may be considerably varied withoutdeparting from the invention; but

W'hat we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the perforated maltsupply pipe c', thesurroundingcasingb, and the Hereit double-rotating mixer c` for luashing the malt,

the whole arranged and operatingsubstantially 'as shown and described.2. The combination of the adjustable pipe d? with the pipe d leading tothe center of the bottom of the mash-tub, and the distributor d', forthe double purpose of admitting water to said -tub when necessary andfor drawing off the wort therefrom.

3. The spargere, perforated as deseiibed,a-nd for the purpose specified.

4. The combination and arrangement of the cistern B, iipef, column g,and the perforated false bottom i, in the mannerand for the purposesubstantially as describeih 5; The employment of the conical perforatedfalsebottom i and chimney i, arranged and constructed substantially inthe manner and for the purpose described.

6. The combination of the boiler B, pipe f, and column g, the latterhaving pipes lo and lo' for tho entrance and exit lof steam or heatedwater or cold water for alternate);7 heating and cooling theL contentsof B, the i whole constructed, arranged, -and operating inthe manner andfor the purpose substantially as shownand described.

7 The combination of the solid wooden tloat TO with the return-pipe 1',these parts being constructed, arranged, and operating substantiallyasshown and described.

' 8.' The employment of the cooling and heat ing vessel D in connectionwith the mercury cup n2, thc inverted cup n3, and the system of levers,the several parts being constructed as shown, and the whole arranged andoperating substantially in the manner and for the pur-

